Announcement of the King
Notes
Transcript
ME/WE
Two more weeks everyone! Two more weeks and we will have ‘made it’ through 2020. Vaccines are on the horizon, holiday is upon us, our kids are home again away from school 24 hours a day 7 days a week for two full weeks, unless they are little ones in which case not much has changed. Except you might not be visiting people, or at least seeing people in the frigid cold winter weather, exchange gifts by ringing the doorbell and standing at a safe social distance or toss it to your grandchildren, and we may have to hunker down in our house or condo and have zoom christmas dinners where you can’t taste each other’s food but it sure looks good, as you try your best to capture some sense of normalcy. Regardless, Christmas in 2020 is going to be different.
GOD
Last week, we talked about the specifics of the Messianic Mission, today, as we are onto the fourth week of Advent we are going to briefly take a look at the story of the Angel Gabriel announcing to Mary the anticipated and prophesized birth of King Jesus.
A bit of background: Luke, is a historian who wrote to Theophilus (and other God-fearers) on an orderly account of God's role in salvation and his new community in the mid-60s A.D. before the Fall of Jersualem. In chapter 1, a parallel story to this one unfolds as a wife Elizabeth has been barren until her husband Zechariah receives a message from the angel Gabriel announcing the birth of his son John (the Baptizer, as I now like to call him as he is neither a Baptist nor a Presbyterian or Methodist for that matter). So it should come as no surprise we have another birth narrative and the proximity of the two stories as a means to compare and contrast in order to bring out the points of our passage. Set in Nazareth instead of Jerusalem, Nazareth, a small inconsequential town in the region of Galilee to the North, with an estimate of no more than 10,000 in population, we find ourselves looking at another husband, Joseph, who doesn’t even have one line to say, but has an important lineage. Joseph is related to King David.
Mary on the other hand, has no other identifiable marker other than she is a virgin, which either means a young girl 14 years of age, or she has not had sexual relations. No lineage, young, recently betrothed, which means she is in the first step of being identified as Joseph’s wife-to-be in a year’s time, and he has paid the bride price to her father, and is lawfully in waiting to be married. The same angel Gabriel came up from Jerusalem and headed north to come to this unexpected town with unexpected news.
28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
Twice she has been called favored, O favored one in verse 28 and you have found favor with God in verse 30. Mary is considered favored or graced because she has been chosen for God’s redemption plan. Mary, knowing her status as no lineage, young, and a virgin, is troubled why is the angel speaking to the contrary of her lived reality. Because that reality is about to change, so Gabriel reassures her, as he and countless people called by God are assured to not be afraid.
Now Gabriel will tell Mary the most wonderful announcement, and it is this:
Jesus, the Holy Son of God will rule as King forever
Jesus, the Holy Son of God will rule as King forever
Now to us this may need some unpacking, how does Jesus being a King mean anything to us? Well, we have to remember the Good News was first and foremost good news to the Jews, the Israelites who had returned from exile but are now under the rule of Roman oppressors. This announcement brings two important news which you will see applies just as much to us as to the Israelites 2,000 years ago.
I. Jesus' birth fulfills the Messianic Expectation of the Davidic Kingdom
I. Jesus' birth fulfills the Messianic Expectation of the Davidic Kingdom
We continue:
31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
If you compare verse 31 to Luke 1:13
13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.
The announcement is pretty similar, assurance not to fear, bearing a son and naming him what God tells the couple to do. Except, in Mary’s case, she’s young so she’s far from barren, and so she didn’t ask for a son, as she is only in betrothal stage. Even here, unlike Matthew, Jesus is no more explained (and in case you forget, Jesus is related to the word Joshua, which means God saves… huge point which Luke will explore in chapter 2). But verse 32-33 is unlike anything that has ever been heard, that he is Son of the Most High, a title related to King David, he will occupy David’s throne, and will reign over the house of Jacob (another name for Israel) forever, without end. This should bring us immediately to God’s covenant with David in 2 Samuel 7:12-16.
12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, 15 but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. 16 And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’ ”
Especially verses 12, 13, 15-16, covers very similar theme. These verses refer to David’s son Solomon, but the reference to this son of the Most High of King David’s forever throne also means the long awaited Messiah, the King-Prophet we talked about last week has come. Second, it means a new chapter has turned in the story of Israel as it is about to be delivered from oppression, and more importantly God will rule through his son and bring peace and justice, open the captive doors, heal the brokenhearted and bind them, good news to the poor, all the promises and missions from last week will come to pass. And Jesus is the heir to this throne, this everlasting kingdom which will outlast all political forces then and now!
Mary was probably both terrified and excited at this news, terrified because it is unfathomable still she would be chosen to be the bearer literally of this good news, but excited because she too longs for a day like this, as we see later in what is known as the Magnificat of which I just pulled a section from.
50 And his mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
51 He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
52 he has brought down the mighty from their thrones
and exalted those of humble estate;
53 he has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
Those are fighting words of a people oppressed and longing to see justice, a reversal of fortune. So Mary contrasts Zechariah where as the priest from the line of Abijah doubted, causing his lips to be sealed until the day of John’s birth, Mary simply questions how it is physically possible, leading to our second point:
II. Jesus’ name Holy - the son of God reveals the Creative Work of the Spirit
II. Jesus’ name Holy - the son of God reveals the Creative Work of the Spirit
34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”
35 And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.
There it is again, a virgin. Now we know Luke is up to something. If a term is repeated, pay attention, it probably means something. Undoubtedly, Luke is referring to the Immanuel prophecy from Isaiah.
14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
In most bibles with footnotes, this is explictly highlighted in the Gospel of Matthew, but Luke is more subtle. In fact Matthew 1:23 directly relates this to Jesus.
23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall call his name Immanuel”
(which means, God with us).
Luke on the other hand outlines Gabriel’s answer as the work of the Holy Spirit. Again, the contrast being John the Baptizer is filled with the Holy Spirit, but Jesus the son of the Most High is born of the Holy Spirit’s creative power, the same power which brought heaven and earth into existence. It will not be through Joseph the rightful lineage to David’s throne from whom Jesus will ascend, so to speak, but by the creative force of the Most High. Jesus is holy, that is, set apart as the son of God, divinely conceived not through sexual relations with God or the Holy Spirit (that’s paganism), but conceived by creative power. Imagine that! The Creator who spoke creation into existence brings about his son as the crowning manifestation of his power! And sure enough, by the time Mary goes and visits Elizabeth, she is already with child, with no mention of Joseph ever in the story.
Thus Jesus fulfills the prophecy by being the firstborn of Mary through the creative power of the Holy Spirit. (Because technically James or Jude could equally be from the line of David because of Joseph’s ancestry). God demonstrates his mighty work to save Israel (though not in the way Israel expected, a warrior-king who would galvanize the Israelites from his fortress to topple Caesar and his legion of oppressors), but through the Messianic Mission, who usurped the social, religious and political systems of his days which led him to his death by crucifixion, ironically, because he is King of the Jews, but also through this very act, a greater battle in the spiritual realm has been won; where the powers of darkness, sin, and death has been defeated on the same cross and the holy son of God the Most High is victorious when the same power of God who overshadowed Mary raised him to life to truly be enthroned forever! We are now to bear witness to his kingdom!
Sounds impossible?
Perhaps we should take note of Gabriel’s words attesting to Elizabeth’s pregnancy as proof of God’s power:
37 For nothing will be impossible with God.”
YOU
So how should we respond?
This is one of those rare occasions where the first application is the same as last week, the Messianic Mission. Sometimes it’s easy to just hear a message and forget about it the next week. Well the first point is “be the bringer of the good news,” our Lord Jesus, and his Messianic Mission to all those around us. And it’s happening in us, MCBC.
Do you remember the gift cards we collected for UrbanPromise, an inner city missions ministry reaching out to those who are vulnerable and marginalized in Toronto? We raised as a church more than $700 worth of cards to buy groceries. During regular season it’s already a challenge for a single mom with a teenager and a child who works two part-time jobs to put food on the table, how much more in the year of pandemic, where the stress and needs are greater. But MCBC, you became good news to the poor as your Lord did! And what about Compassion Canada and our sponsorship to the targeted country of Nicaragua? Well by God’s grace and your generosity, we have sponsored 33 children from there and 4 more from other countries, including two children from Rwanda! Thats 33 children who experience the good news to be able to go to school, attended to and cared for by their local church, bless their family not only with basic needs but also a sponsor father or brother, sister or brother as they grow up, someone to write to them during their birthday, every Christmas, every New Year.
Praise God for your participation on His Messianic Mission!
But the needs and challenges continue! On a recent UrbanPromise e-newsletter, their greatest need isn’t food gift cards, though they are still welcomed and we will have another drive in the beginning of 2021, but it’s Chromebook laptops. Having the privilege to attend their zoom presentation Joy in the City, two things stuck out to me. There seems to be overall a weaker wifi signal in the housing where UrbanPromise clients are situated in, and also something we take for granted, even wanting to have the fastest, best graphics card, loaded RAMS and large harddrives, to someone living in another part of Toronto, they just need something so they can follow their online learning at school and not fall behind, or connect with grandma in another part of the city.
Or write that first letter to your Compassion child, or put in an extra gift of a farm animal or some supplies from their gift catalogue. Brothers and sisters, we are deeply privileged, for most of us, so what might God be calling you to extend his Messianic Mission to?
Or maybe the answer is something brand new, that requires prayer and a lot of believing God is in it, something requiring the creative power of the Spirit. No, we can’t repeat the incarnation or a virgin birth, there’s only one Jesus who is Lord of all and son of the Most High, holy and distinct. But the same Spirit who also raised this Jesus is still in the ministry of doing the impossible! Not what you want, but searching scriptures and discern at this time and place what God might be calling you to particpate in something he’s already doing. Maybe it’s someone you know you’ve been hesitating to share the good news, the gospel of Jesus and how he has saved them as Saviour to take away their sins. The Spirit promises to be there when you have your first, or fifteenth conversation, and as we are faithful, we just watch the creative power of the Holy Spirit at work. We can join in the Spirit’s work! Gabriel may no longer be delivering good news, so far as it’s been recorded in the Bible, but that’s because we are now to be the bringer of good news. It’s a choice we make everyday. Brothers and sisters, will you choose to experience the creative power of the Spirit in the words you say, the acts you do as He transforms you to be a witness for him this Christmas?
WE
And just as a young, insignificant virgin in an obscure town heard the call to be the bearer of the announcement to the world to bear a son named Jesus, who will be Saviour and King, and this Mary is now forever blessed because she obeyed with the following words to God’s plan, may our life be summed up as “Behold I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.”
Amen.
Let’s pray